Quintiles says the carrot can wait

Like your mother says, it's the thought that counts.

Citing the state's budget woes, Durham-based Quintiles Transnational Corp. asked state Commerce officials to delay paying the company $299,000 in state incentives until the end of the state's fiscal year in June.

The department's Economic Investment Committee readily agreed to Quintiles' request during a meeting Tuesday morning.

Five months into its fiscal year, the state is already reporting a $110million revenue shortfall.

Quintiles, the largest contract drug research company in the world, easily met the job-creation requirements of the state incentives package it was awarded in 2006.

Quintiles was required to retain its existing 1,123 jobs and create at least 116 new jobs that paid at least $58,800. The company has created 392 jobs that pay on average nearly $81,000.

The company has already invested $51million in its headquarters in the Imperial Center business park off Interstate 40 at Page Road. The state Job Development Investment Grant requires that it invest $54 million by 2013. The $299,000 payment will be the first Quintiles has received under the JDIG program.

Quintiles, which employs more than 1,700 people in the Triangle and about 23,000 worldwide, could receive a maximum of $21.4 million from its 12-year grant from the state. State incentives made up the bulk of a $25 million package that was offered to keep the company in Durham.

The company was started more than 25 years ago by former UNC-Chapel Hill professor Dennis Gillings. Gillings took the company private in 2003 and no longer has to disclose detailed financial reports. However, in October, Gillings told a reporter for the Financial Times in Singapore that Quintiles research, sales, consulting and agency businesses earn global revenue of just under $3 billion.

Hewitt loses award

Although Quintiles has exceeded the state's expectations, Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm with offices in Charlotte, has not.

The Economic Investment Committee terminated Hewitt's JDIG award Tuesday at the request of the company.

Hewitt, which helps companies manage human resources and other employee services, was awarded the grant in 2005. The company was required to create 900 jobs over four years to receive as much as $8 million.

Hewitt cited the bad economy, particularly the struggles faced by its banking clients, as the reason its expansion plans were curtailed.

Hewitt did not receive any money from the state before the grant was terminated.